Critical Service-Learning as Social Justice Education: A Case Study of the Citizen Scholars Program

A critical service-learning pedagogy links service-learning and social justice education by engaging students in meaningful service in the community and integrating that experience with thoughtful introduction, analysis, and discussion of issues important to understanding social justice. The Citizen Scholars Program is a unique four semester service-learning experience with an explicit aim to develop students' capacities to act for positive social change. Using the experiences of the second completion cohort of this program as a case study, this research suggests that a critical service-learning pedagogy encourages students to think more deeply about and develop commitments to act for social justice. Notes 1. The four courses that comprise the core of the Citizen Scholars Program (1999–2002) curriculum are as follows: Anthropology 297H: The Good Society, Honors 291S: Citizen Scholars Integrative Seminar, Honors 391S: Organizing for Change, Honors 492C: Public Policy and Citizen Action. 2. Citizen Scholars do voluntary service in the community for 60 hours in three of the four semesters of the program. Students have the option of doing up to 30 hours of service during the intersession (either in summer for the Fall semester or in December/January for the Spring semester) to count towards their 60 hours. During the fourth and final semester of the program, Citizens Scholars are engaged in capstone projects that are aimed at creating positive change in the community. The student's work on this project fulfills her 60 hour commitment to community service during that semester. 3. To be eligible for the CSP, students must have a 3.2 grade point average (4.0 scale) and at least four semesters remaining in their academic endeavors. Students are recruited from across campus through posters and encouragement from students already in the program. Students involved in other service-learning experiences, like the first-year service-learning living community on campus or the alternative spring break program, are also encouraged to apply because program staff for the CSP are also involved with these service-learning initiatives. To apply, students complete an application that asks for some demographic data and an essay explaining their interest in the program. Applicants are interviewed by one of the program co-directors and a current student in the program, and selection is determined by consensus of the membership committee (a blend of faculty, students, and program staff). 4. Because of the four semester four-course commitment, a leave of absence from the CSP is for a full academic year (i.e., students that take leave in the spring semester of one year cannot rejoin the program until the spring semester of the next academic year). 5. All names presented in this case study are pseudonyms.